


A Sound Soul

by SoulPhrase



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-04-12
Packaged: 2018-03-21 10:11:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3688326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulPhrase/pseuds/SoulPhrase
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A compilation of prompts for SoMa week 2015 on tumblr!<br/>Sunday: Geeking Out, Monday: Cuddles, Tuesday: Catharsis, Wednesday: Dragons, Thursday: Night Swimming/Skinny Dipping, Friday: Worth It, Saturday: Coming of Age.<br/>The first four chapters are all rated T; the last is rated M. EDIT: I really hate having to skip out on a whole two days, but if I did them now they would be extremely rushed. I would rather spend the time improving the final chapter. Maybe I'll write Thursday / Friday's prompts after the week is over, but it's not that likely. Sorry!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Geeking Out

"This is an _OUTRAGE,_  Soul!"

 

While his meister had a tendency to be as feisty as she was brave, Maka wasn’t normally one to yell. Her back met the couch with an exasperated groan after she walked into the room. She grabbed at the nearest thing she could to pull it over her face. To Soul's confusion, it happened to be the sleeve of his yellow jacket. “Maka, what the hell are you talking about? You didn’t score below a 95 again, did you?”

Pulling the yellow fabric even further over her face, Maka shook her head slowly. “No.  _Worphh_.”

Soul blinked before raising an eyebrow at her. “Worse?”

Maka gave him a somber nod. Great,  _worse_. If it wasn’t dire, what situation could be worse to Maka than getting an A-? Okay. . . a lot of things. But she only seemed to complain about her lacking academic excellence as of late. The scythe had trouble resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “Fine, go on and talk to me about it. But stop clinging to my sleeve like that, okay? You’re cooler than that.”

She kept the cloth between her fingers in a gentle grip, but she at least took it off of her face. Instead of looking sad, the ever-fiery Maka was about ready to dish out a nasty Maka Chop. Her features were scrunched up with obvious distaste. Soul would’ve called her pouting cute, had her eyes not looked dead-set on  _murder_. “Remember how Black Star and Tsubaki offered to take me out to see a movie?”

“Oh, yeah. ‘ _The White Knight_ ,’ wasn’t it? How did that go?”

In that moment, Soul knew he should have shut his mouth. His meister looked more like a weapon than he did. Out of nowhere, she thrust her arm forward while still gripping Soul’s sleeve. . . essentially slapping Soul with his own hand. His own hand rushed to comfort the reddened spot. “Ow! What the fuck was that for?”

Maka replied in a mocking tone, deeper than what her voice usually sounded like. “‘ _How did that go, Maka? You look totally down, but it went well right?_ ’ Really Soul?”

“Oh come on. That doesn’t even sound like me. Just cut to the chase already, will ya?” Maka’s hazel-green eyes were piercing into him now like daggers. Soul couldn’t tell if it they contained anger, disappointment or something else. She gave up again, slumping into the couch.

“. . . The movie didn’t suck, I guess. But it wasn’t anything like the book.” Maka’s frown deepened when an all-too-familiar laugh broke the mood. “What’s so funny?”

“Sheesh, I should’ve known you’d make a deal out of something like that. Isn’t that the kind of stuff everyone says? ‘ _The book was better than the movie?_ ’ The story’s the same, so I don’t see the problem.” Maka groaned and pulled her knees up onto the couch so she could sit in a fetal position. Figures that a bookworm like her would have a partner who couldn't relate.

“Of course you don’t see the problem. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve  _eaten_ a book before, Soul.”

Soul gave her a light nudge on the shoulder. “Now you’re just saying nonsense. I’ve eaten some weird stuff before, but I haven’t gotten to tasting paper yet.” Despite his joking tone, Soul's pupils never left hers.

“Keep going.”

“Well. . .” Maka looked up to the ceiling, as if she was searching her brain for a checklist of flaws in the movie. “The casted actors were nothing like how the characters were written in the book . . . the costume designs were lacking. . .” The large scowl returned to Maka’s face.

“But the worst part was what they did to Melina.”

Soul didn’t even have to ask. The memories were coming back to him now. It had been a long time ago, but Maka had rambled to him about ‘ _The White Knight_.’ Several. Times. It was one of her favorite books . . . how could he have forgotten? “Right . . . Melina was your favorite character. What was she again, a saint?”

“An angel,” Maka corrected. “Melina was self-conscious about how she wasn’t as beautiful as the others. Her wings were small, and she couldn’t fly as much as other angels could. Instead, she had a heart of gold and immense courage.” Maka gave a heavy sigh. It was almost as though nostalgia left her lungs alongside her breath.

“She and my mother made me strong when I was little.”

“Wow . . . sounds like Melina had it rough.” Soul’s tone of voice might have sounded sarcastic, although he hadn’t meant to be. Still, it was at least good to see Maka smiling again. His meister always had such a pure-hearted smile. “So what went wrong with her in the movie?”

Well,  _shit_. That sweet smile of hers sank back into a frown as soon as he asked. Way to go, Soul. You should’ve waited for her to tell you herself. Her eyebrows began to furrow with clear irritation. “I get that there’s only so much information you can put in a two-hour movie. But they left out so much of her background! Her goals, her emotional past . . . they threw away her character!”

The meister was doing a poor job hiding the anger in her voice. “She’s hardly anything but a love interest for the White Knight. There is some romance in the book, but it’s way more built up than some mediocre make-outs. In fact, the entire arc where—“

* * *

 

 

It was then that Soul started to tune out what his meister was saying. Truthfully, he did want to listen and be as supportive as possible. But when it came to geeking about books . . . Maka was without compare at the DWMA. He just couldn’t keep up with her pace.

“Soul?”

. . .  _Crap_ , talk about embarrassing. Soul wasn’t even sure of how much time had passed since Maka started chatting his ear off. Her position had changed; she was now facing him and much closer than before. Maka waved her hand in front of him with a concerned look in her eyes. “ _Soooooouuuul_. Hello?”

Soul bashfully began to scratch at the back of his neck. He was still in a daze but had to at least say something. This was gonna hurt, but no point in lying about the obvious. “Sorry, Maka. Couldn’t keep up with all the book nonsense—“

 _Wham_.

A Maka Chop right to the noggin before Soul could even catch his breath. Why did his meister have to be so quick to jump on the offensive?! It was because he let the ‘ _nonsense_ ’ slip out, huh. She could have just hit him with his own hand like she did minutes ago. It would have hurt less. But Maka must have surmised the nearby book would leave a bigger dent. Talk about sadistic. . .

“Nonsense?! I thought you were trying to help!”

“I want to!” Soul’s voice rang louder than he would have liked, but it couldn't be helped. The throbbing pain at the top of his cranium didn't help any. He couldn’t even bear to look at Maka’s face as he explained himself. Could he at least go a single day without having to worry about being clobbered? That was too much to ask for, apparently. “I just can’t soak in all you’re trying to tell me, okay? It’s way too much information.”

Maka snorted. It was a sound that didn’t fit a girl as cute as her, but she seemed ready to charge through him like a bull. And Soul didn't exactly want to see himself as a flimsy piece of red fabric.  “For a skull as thick as yours, sure.” He didn't even have to see her face to realize that she wasn’t looking straight at him either. In the corner of his eye, Soul watched as she twirled one of her pigtails between her fingers. “Does anything else manage to make it through? Other than music?”

Okay, now she was crossing the line. What was up with the attitude? She could insult him all she wanted, but bringing music up like this was foul play. “Don’t you dare, Maka. It’s not the same.”

The corner of Maka’s lips made a brief twitch. The meister must have been pleased by the crack in his prior solid expression. She decided to press on. “Oh yeah? Why not?” Soul knew what she was trying to do now. Maka wanted to get him worked up. He would flub over his words again and look like even more of an idiot. This was coming out of nowhere, but. . .

“Music’s kind of like whenever our souls resonate.” Soul closed his eyes and put a hand over his heart. Beneath it, he felt the gentle pounding against his chest. “There’s a rhythm, a beat . . . a sound. You’ve heard it too, right Maka?” Wasn’t he supposed to be mad or something? Irritated, at the least? The weapon had no idea what overcame him, but he was sounding a lot cornier than usual. It hadn’t even occurred to him what Maka would think about what he was saying. The words kept slipping out before he could stop himself.

“I don’t know about you, Maka, but I enjoy the music that we make together.”

Oh, shit. What did he just say? Way to sound  _completely uncool_ , Soul. Through cracked eyelids, Soul peeked with hesitation at the face of his meister. It was just as he feared. Maka was looking right back at him, and her cheeks glowed at least three shades of embarrassment. He’d need to cover himself quick. Or else he'll get another blow to the head by a thicker book. Luckily for him, an idea sprung into his mind. It was going to be dangerous, but it would have to do.

“Uh . . . sorry, you can forget I said that. How about I make it up to you tomorrow?”

“Eh?” Maka still seemed to be shaking off her embarrassment. There were several implications in his statement, and none boded well for Soul. The meister's fingers were already curled around the spine of a book, ready to deal another Maka Chop. It was only after Soul glared at her hand that Maka sheepishly laughed and shied her fingers away from the novel. “How do you plan on doing that?”

Giving Maka his classic toothy grin, Soul made his offer. “Let’s go see ‘ _The White Knight_ ’ together. Call it a date.”

He made an immediate dodge to the left after finishing his sentence. Today his meister was being especially. . . violent. He should’ve known better and tried to ask her later, when she would be calmer. The meister has a fierce tendency to defend what she cares about, after all. But Soul also had a reputation for making some pretty poor decisions. “Soul, are you crazy? Have you really not been listening to a single word I’ve said about that—“

“I know, I know. It’s terrible and deserves to burn.” Soul made the sarcasm dripping from his voice painfully obvious. His hands were raised in either defense or nonchalance. From the waver in his smile, Maka wasn’t able to tell which. “I’ve never been good with sticking my face into a book for long, you know. But you make the story sound interesting.” A sigh of relief caught in Soul's throat when Maka put the book down.

“I want to learn more about these characters you sound so happy about. Even if the movie doesn’t do a good job, it’ll give me an idea of what to expect the next time you talk to me about it.” Maka looked . . . legitimately surprised. Speechless, even. What, was he not allowed to sound genuinely nice for once? “So, I’ll ask again. . .” Soul held out his hand.

“Wanna go see a movie together?”

Then Maka smiled. It wasn’t forced, or out of a simple happiness. It was a smile of understanding, widening as she heard the metronome pounding in Soul’s chest. With a light shake of her head in disbelief, Maka grasped Soul's hand. “All right, you win this one.  _It’s a date_.”


	2. Cuddles

Click.

Click.

The monotonous sound of the remote control’s buttons was starting to irk Maka. There was nothing worthwhile on any of the channels. Deciding to give the television a chance for once was a bad idea. She usually spent her free time reading a good book or studying for the next exam a week in advance. It had been Soul's idea to do something different. The scythe said he was getting bored with all the spare time lately; there was little to do at the apartment. On Maka's behalf, Spirit agreed to send over a high definition TV.  Yet right now, it was just commercial after commercial.

_What fun was this if the darned thing constantly tried to persuade her to buy a sandwich?_

Heck, for the past year, Soul has been a terrible influence on the honor student. Her goal of perfect attendance during each semester at DWMA became a distant dream. She is now much more reckless when it comes to decision making as a whole. She even forgot to do the shopping for groceries, even though it was her turn to cook for the night. That was why she was left slurping salty noodles out of a cup. Studying wasn't an option, unless she wanted to risk getting broth stains on her textbook.

Maybe she could try and write out a list of things to blame her scythe on to pass the time,  _instead_.

. . . Come to think of it, Soul had been coming to the apartment much later than Maka would expect. Sure, he had a lot of free time to be out doing . . . whatever. She wasn’t a babysitter, and it wasn’t really her business to begin with. But Maka didn’t like that she was usually asleep by the time he got back. When it was his turn, Soul would cook dinner hours in advance and place a note on the fridge before leaving for the day. She hardly saw him outside of class time. Regardless of the reason, it was suspicious and worrisome for the meister. If she didn’t know what he was even up to, how would she be able to contact him in case he got hurt?

That settled it. She was going to try and pull an all-nighter and wait for him to get back. It would end up killing her in the morning. . .but Maka would get the information out of him no matter what. The television should be enough to keep her awake.

The only problem was that she had no idea how long it would  _actually_ take for Soul to show up. It could be anywhere between  _one to ten_   _hours_ from now. “Maybe I’ll just . . . close my eyes for a bit,” Maka mumbled to no one in particular. Closing her eyes and letting thoughts swim through her mind, Maka dreamt of flight.

* * *

 

“. . .  _Mmng_.”

Ugh. What a long night. Maka should have known better than to try to stay awake for the entire evening. She had tried it before, once. The memory of what that night did to her performance the following day made her body feel heavy. Every time she had come close to staying up late since, Soul would nag at her to go to sleep.

And, surely enough, it seemed the scythe had come to her aid yet again. She was wrapped in a thin, pink blanket with a pillow cushioned beneath her cheek. He could have lifted her to her bedroom, considering how light she is. Maka supposed that Soul was worried about waking her up. A small smile graced her lips. How typical of Soul, always concerned for her regardless of the situation. A meister and their weapon were considered partners, but Soul always seemed to go the extra mile when it came to checking up on her. She first thought it to be Papa's doing, considering the Death Scythe’s overprotective nature. But Soul had proven both of them wrong on several occasions.

It filled her heart with warmth just thinking about it.

“. . .  _Snoork_. . .”

Uh.

Maybe that wasn’t the  _only_ reason she was feeling warm. . .

That abhorrent snore sounded familiar. Maka attempted to move herself to identify the source, but she found herself too groggy to flip over. That, or a certain  _someone_ was a little too heavy for her to shove off. She could toss them off if she really wanted to. But then she would risk damaging the furniture . . .

What the hell was he doing all cuddled up to her like this anyway? Did the scythe have a death wish?

Luckily for her, Soul wasn’t much of an active snorer.  But now some of his stark white hair was falling onto her forehead. She tried, but couldn’t even lift a finger to brush his bangs away from her face. Soul’s tough arms were wound around her torso as though she were a teddy bear. Somewhat disappointed, Maka huffed quietly to herself.

Punishment would have to wait until the morning.

Still . . . her weapon’s actions brought a flush to Maka’s cheeks. He was considerate enough to leave her undisturbed on the sofa. He went so far as bringing a blanket over to make sure she didn’t catch a cold. Why, then, would he bring himself so affectionately close to her? It didn’t seem like something the boy would ever do. Unless she were at risk of catching a fever in a damp cave, or some other terrible place. Yet their living room hardly compared.

Maka could feel Soul’s chest rise and fall against her back with each gentle breath of his. Their tangled legs would prove to be an issue in the morning, but it wasn't so bad. She couldn’t deny that his shared body heat was . . . sort of  _nice_. Too bad she couldn’t turn around with them being so close. Maka began to wonder what the crevice of his neck would feel like against her cheek. Judging from the way his bare arms felt alongside her own, she could assume . . .

_Woah woah, wait. No!_

_What was she thinking?!_

She must have been out of it. Only half awake, and enticed by the closest source of warmth. What if Blair happened to come home and see them like this? What if that cat told Papa . . .? If word got to him that Soul was ‘ _sleeping_ ’ with his daughter, throats were going to end up cut. Metaphorically speaking, of course. At least, she hoped her father wouldn’t go that far. Soul had never done anything like this before, so she had no experience to look back on.

Still . . .

Maka supposed she could let this slide. Just this once, though. She was too tired to move, and her weapon was kind enough to provide a generous source of heat. As Maka was lulled back to sleep, she pondered over what to tell Soul in the morning.

* * *

 

As the two parted ways that afternoon, Maka couldn’t help but be irritated. Not long before the duo had to leave for school, Maka decided to confront Soul about what happened overnight. As she expected, he remained in complete denial. He tried to keep up a good poker face ( _and failed_ ), so she knew that he was trying to hide something. Soul claimed that it was an accident, of course. And that he was ‘just really tired that night'. But putting a blanket over the two of them was clearly deliberate. Soul had woken up before her that morning, so it was downright impossible for him to claim ignorance.

In theory, waking up with your arms around someone else is pretty hard to miss.

Even so, he insisted that he just passed out on the couch and didn’t realize she was there. Yeah, right! Did he think she was really that naïve? Maybe she should have punished him, after all. It’s been a good while since the scythe took a Maka Chop. Though, it was strange. He was looking a little sheepish when she confronted him at first.

Was there something else that he was trying to hide from her?

“Oh, good afternoon Maka!”

The all-too-familiar voice brought Maka back to her senses. She must have walked out to the nearby balcony without thinking about it. Black Star’s trustworthy partner, Tsubaki, seemed to show up here at just the right times. She had provided Maka with generous amounts of support throughout their time at DWMA. Surely the weapon would have something to say about her current predicament with Soul.

“Tsubaki! Do you know if anything’s been up with Soul lately? I can’t shake the feeling that he’s trying to hide something from me.”

‘It’s starting to make me worry’ remained unspoken.

“Really? Well, I think I have an idea of what it could be . . .” The ninja quietly mumbled to herself, overlooking the balcony. It was as though she were thinking aloud of whether to inform Maka. Thankfully, Tsubaki was never good at keeping secrets from her close friends. It didn’t even take a lick of persuasion to try and get Tsubaki to talk. “I guess I can tell you. Just be sure not to tell Soul that I did, okay?”

She let out a modest laugh before looking out at the city beyond the balcony. “He specifically asked me not to tell you.”

Just then, Maka’s fists clenched. She had to struggle to hold back the frustration in her voice. “O-oh,  _did_ he now?” Picking up on Maka’s ill intent, Tsubaki waved her hands in a bit of a panic.

“Ahh, it’s nothing bad! I promise! He and I have actually been practicing combat techniques together.”

Now that caught Maka’s interest. What reason could he have for that? Soul seemed interested in getting stronger, sure. But why not ask her for some special training? That seemed like the sort of thing to ask your meister first.

“Combat?”

Tsubaki nodded. “Mhmm. Weapons aren’t able to fight very well on their own. He knows that Black Star and I have seen you two fight together in battle several times. Soul has been wanting to get stronger for your sake.”

‘ _I want to protect Maka_ ’. He didn’t say that to her directly, but it was implied to Tsubaki by his actions. Especially considering he didn’t want her to tell Maka. The meister would have called his concerns unwarranted. The two always fight together with few problems, after all.

“For . . . for me?”

Maka shouldn’t have been as shocked as she was. A lot of what Soul had been doing lately seemed to fall under that criteria.  _For her_. He had been doing so for as long as she could remember, but one question still seemed to grate at the back of her mind.

_Why?_

What reason did he have to treat her with so much kindness?

He had done things for her beyond of what was expected out of their partnership. It had troubled her the past few days, what with Soul being out late at night and all. At least she now knew where he was going, but she still couldn’t understand  _why_ —

Then it hit her.

“. . .Ah, I see now.”

How had she been so oblivious? The answer to Maka's longstanding question had been by her side all this time. She had felt it before, when they resonated souls during practice. Maka just didn’t understand it at the time. That beautiful, warm sensation . . . it was completely foreign to her until last night. Maka offered Tsubaki her thanks, turning on her heel and back into the hallway. She was going to find Soul. The meister had a feeling it would be difficult to wipe off the smile spread wide on her face.

Maybe she could let him get away with it a few more times.


	3. Catharsis

Milk, eggs, sugar . . .

Yup, that was about it for Soul’s last-minute shopping list.

Maka had seemed really down as of late, so he thought it would be a nice idea to make her something she would really like. He would have to think about what flavor to make it later. She wasn’t really known for having a sweet tooth, but who  _didn’t_ like having a cake baked on their behalf?

Bringing a smile to his meister’s face placed high on Soul’s mental list of priorities.

Making his way to the self-checkout station, Soul shuffled through his back pockets for his wallet. Maka would kill him if he came to the apartment late tonight, so he had to make this trip quick. The meister didn’t exactly know that he was taking the time to make an extra run for groceries. He snatched up his receipt after claiming the last bit of coin change, rushing to make his way out to the parking lot. The sky was already getting pretty dark, and it wasn’t even dinner time.

Then a revelation slapped him straight across the face.

“ _Shit_. . . it’s my turn to make dinner tonight!”

Soul sprinted over to where he parked his motorcycle, dropping the goods on its plush seat. He should be more mindful about things like this, but there wasn’t time to give it much thought. Maka gave him a hard time a while back—when he had once let the groceries fly off of the motorcycle in the blink of an eye. He wasn’t about to have that happen again. To his surprise, a tiny mewl came from under the bag. The creature underneath shook its paws with protest, nearly tossing away the goods Soul had just purchased only minutes ago.

“Nyaa! About time you got here, scythe boy!”

Soul made a quick move to catch the plastic bag before it collided with the concrete below. He sighed with relief when the bag met with his fingers. He turned and glared at the familiar cat, clearly irritated by the situation. “Hey hey, watch it! What are you doing there, anyway?” His eyes briefly met with the darkening sky, reminding the weapon of what needed to be done. “Actually, hold on. You can tell me on the way back.”

He lifted Blair off of the motorcycle seat before sitting himself down. While Blair made herself comfortable on his shoulder, she took the moment to think about what Soul was really saying. “On the way back . . .? B-but that’s what I came here to warn you about!”

Soul couldn’t hear a word of what the cat had to say, revving the engine of his motorcycle with a press of his heel. Moments later, the motorcycle came to life, speeding out of the parking lot. Blair could hardly contain her unholy meows of distress. This was nothing like cruising the evening sky on a pumpkin. Without Maka here to keep an eye on Soul, the weapon saw no reason to drive at or below the speed limit. Blair had to sink her claws into the back of Soul’s jacket just to keep herself from flying off.

“Soul, waaait! You  _really_ shouldn’t talk to Maka right now! She’s—“

“ _Hah_? What was that, furball?” Soul shouted. “I can’t hear you!”

_And whose fault is that, huh?!_

Blair huffed when Soul sped past the yellow streetlight before it could turn red. She could hardly hear herself past the roaring of wind into her sensitive, fluffy ears. She may as well give up and leave it to Soul to find out on his own. He was way better at this sort of thing than she was, anyway. The crooked streets and nearby alleyways slowly became familiar, visible only with the dim lighting provided by street posts. It would be about two minutes until they arrived back at the apartment, given Soul’s current disregard for traffic safety laws. ‘ _They call it the City of Death for a reason_ ,’ he had once used as an excuse. That boy has no shame.

Blair had no idea how Maka manages to tame the scythe the way she does. And  _she_ was supposed to be the one winning over the hearts of men!

“Oh, looks like we’re already almost there. Just tell me inside the apartment.”

In resignation, Blair sighed before swishing her tail. No point in hanging around with how Maka was acting up. She was better off chatting up the nearby fish salesman, but Soul didn’t need to know that.

“ . . . Uh huh.”

* * *

 

Making his way up to the door, Soul fumbled with the key ring in his back pocket. “I’m home,” the scythe had called out while trying to one-handedly fix the right key into its slot. He would have asked Blair to hold onto the groceries for him, but the cat was nowhere to be found. Must have run off for some reason. Speaking of nowhere to be found . . . Maka didn’t respond to his voice. Maybe she was busy stuffing her nose in a book, or taking a nap. Maybe she just didn’t hear him.

Whatever the case, Soul hoped it wasn’t something serious.

Soul was sure to lock the door behind him after stepping onto the ‘welcome’ mat. It proved to be more cumbersome than he would have liked, considering the lights were out. Maka must have turned them off so she could get some rest. If that was the case, he might as well go wake her up now. He flipped the nearby light switch on and swapped his shoes out for a pair of house slippers. The groceries were left on the kitchen counter; checking up on Maka was more important. Soul called out for his meister once again as he approached her room. “Maka? Can you hear—“

Oh no.

The lights in Maka’s room were still off, but she was definitely awake. The sound was muffled behind the door, but Soul recognized it well. His meister was crying.

Ugh,  _great_. . . another one of these nights? What was she worried about now? Hopefully it was easy to fix, and not another fit over something trivial. Knowing that his strong-willed meister was so down broke his heart. He lightly tapped his knuckles to the wood of the door. “Hey. Can I come in?”

Maka’s sobbing went quiet. After about a minute or two of waiting, the scythe became impatient. He would bust down the door himself if he had to. There was a quiet shuffling behind the door before Maka gave Soul her answer. “ . . . N-no,” she hiccuped.

Without an ounce of hesitation, Soul replied bluntly. “Too bad.”

To his luck and her chagrin, Maka had forgotten to lock her door. She was curled in a fetal position on her bed, immediately turning her face away from the door as it opened to conceal her tears. A large book with a dull, red cover sat beside her bare feet. He recognized it as one of her family’s photo albums. It was a looming threat to the scythe, one that normally warned him to tread carefully. Yet when Maka was brought to the point of tears, she preferred to bash him with spoken words rather than text.

“So,” he started. “Wanna talk to me about it?”

Still refusing to look at him, Maka’s spoke in a tired murmur. Her voice must have been exhausted from crying. “Go away.”

Well, that much was only to be expected. Comforting his meister when she was this upset had never been easy. But he had succeeded many times in the past, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to give up now. “But you know you can trust me, Maka.” He slowly approached her bedside as if to give Maka time to notice. Definitely didn’t want to make her feel worse. Giving her a suitable amount of space, Soul sat beside her.

“We’re partners.”

It was only now that he noticed Maka tightly embracing a pillow, caught between her chest and legs. The lights were still off, so he had to make sure he didn’t do anything . . . awkward. Why hadn’t he turned the lights on in her room when he came in, again? He could barely see her face when she finally turned to face him. “Soul . . . that’s exactly why I can’t talk to you about this.”

The empathetic smile was wiped clean off of Soul’s face.

Damn, and for a moment he thought she was actually going to cooperate. He should have anticipated Maka to be stubborn about this. Why couldn’t he just see souls like Maka does? It would make reassuring her a heck of a lot easier, to know the depths of what troubles her. “Come on, Maka. Don’t be like that. You’ll feel better getting it off of your chest.” Soul cautiously scooted a little bit closer to Maka. “I won’t force you to tell me, but . . .”

“Please?”

Silence. And Soul patiently waited for it to pass. He watched as Maka wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist, sniffing pathetically. She loathed showing this side of herself to anyone, but Soul had gotten an eyeful on several occasions. He knew by now that it was no time to be messing around. Then she spoke.

“. . . It’s about my papa.”

Spirit, huh? He should’ve known that clown was involved somehow. “Your pops? Did something happen?”

Solemnly, Maka shook her head. Her fingers clenched around the pillow she had pulled to her chest. “Nothing new. I just . . . happened to run into him on the way here. He had another one of his girlfriends at his side.” Soul already understood her situation pretty well. She wanted to try and care about him deep down, but her dad’s tendency to jump from woman to woman repulsed her.

Everyone knew that Maka looked up to her mother as something more than just a role model. She tried to follow in her footsteps, working hard to become the first of her class like her mother was. In her eyes, Spirit had betrayed them both. The scorn in her voice was harsh, almost as if she were ready to spit venom. But then it cracked.

“And he has the  _gall_ to tell me that he still l-loves me and my mom. . .  _Can you believe that?_ ”

Soul sighed. It made sense for her to be upset, but not to this degree. A soul as strong as Maka’s wouldn’t be reduced to tears by her relationship with her dad. “Your skeezy old man’s at it again, huh? But, like you said, that’s nothing new.” He scooted a little further, close enough to be right next to Maka. Soul made sure to keep his voice soft.

“Something else has to be bothering you.”

Maka appeared shocked. The laugh that followed still carried a hint of sadness, but the sound almost made Soul’s ears smile. “Since when did you see through me so easily, Soul? I guess I don’t have a choice other than to tell you.” She sniffled, lifting her hand to wipe her nose. Soul quickly stopped her, easily making his way to the stand beside her bed with his eyes now adjusted to the darkness. He handed her the nearby box of tissues, nodding when she gratefully accepted it.

“Okay . . . remember when we thought Blair was a witch and tried to hunt her down?”

Soul didn’t need a second to think it over. “Of course. I couldn’t forget something that important.”

“Well . . . seeing papa with another woman reminded me of how you acted back then. When you said—“

_You would become her partner instead of mine._

“All right, I’m not even letting you finish that one.” Soul’s voice began to flare. “That was me taking advantage of a ruse to snag us our last soul!” Half of Maka’s face was covered by tissue, but even he could feel the pain in her eyes. He thought it was a cunning thing to do at the time, and it had allowed them to win in the end.

Yet. . .

“I thought you already knew that I’d never turn my back on you like that. If I’d known you’d still worry about it more than a year later. . .” The scythe swallowed the lump in his throat. Maka sounded ready to bawl again. His hand slid towards Maka’s along the bed sheets, stopping as their fingertips met. “I’m sorry.”

Maka’s hand pulled away.

“But . . . how do I know you won’t run away like that one day, either?”

_‘How can I trust a man like you’ were her unspoken words._

Soul wasn’t offended in the least. He considered himself better than that. He was better than that. But given Maka’s past, he really couldn’t bring himself try and argue otherwise. His silence spoke volumes to Maka. She must have gotten the wrong idea. “You never talk about your family with me, either. So you must have. . .”

“Run away from them?”

Soul managed to cut her off before she could say it first. His voice was low, bitter. As much as he preferred to keep it under the rug, Soul couldn’t always conceal the truth. “Yeah, I can’t really deny it. But what’s wrong with that?” Maka’s head rose at Soul’s display of confidence. “If I hadn’t, I’d still be leaning over a stupid piano for the rest of my life. I’m a lot happier fighting alongside you.”

Seeing as Maka was looking at him again, Soul took the chance to give her a winning smile. Thoughtfully, he reached for her hand again. “I mean it Maka. Hell . . . I’d have to be an idiot to ever think otherwise.”

“So cheer up, okay?”

Time stopped as Maka’s pupils shifted down to glance at Soul’s hand. She had been holding her breath, almost as if such a simple gesture carried an immense risk. Was she so reluctant to put faith in him? Or, was she simply afraid of what would happen if she did?

“I . . .”

Through Maka’s tears, Soul could see her smile. The darkness made it difficult to see, but he smiled back. Even if she was afraid of betrayal, Maka had been brave for as long as he could remember. She knew how to face her fears. The meister just needed someone to pick her up when she was down, every now and then. And that was okay.

Soft fingertips met his own, gently intertwining the two teen’s fingers together. “Thanks, Soul. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

A small blush began to creep up the scythe’s cheeks. He had never been especially responsive to touch, so holding hands like this felt . . . pretty intimate. The worst part was that, despite the darkness in her room, Maka would be able to detect his embarrassment. Once again, her ability to see souls would bite him in the ass.

“D-Don’t mention it,” he grumbled.

He didn’t want to let go, but their level of contact was making him even more nervous. And the more nervous he got, the easier it would be for Maka to smell his fear.  _C’mon, Soul. Change the subject . . . change the subject . . .!_

Then a switch clicked in Soul’s brain. How did he forget? He had left all the necessary stuff on the kitchen counter, after all. “Hey, I know. How about you do me a quick favor?” Maka was curious.

“A favor? Now?”

Soul’s teeth gleamed in the dark as he smiled. From where he was positioned, the moonlight from the room’s window struck just above his jawline. It would have appeared predatory to some, if not menacing. But it brought Maka reassurance.

“Tell me what kind of cake you feel like having.”


	4. Dragons

The sun bore down on Maka’s sore neck and shoulders. She removed her black cloak as soon as the mission was over, but there was little alleviation from the blistering heat. Her only consolation was that the sun should be setting within the hour. Soul looked worse off than she did, much as he tried to hide it. His posture was more slouched than usual, breathing somewhat labored. He wiped the sweat off his face with a towel mid-walk.

“Talk about a long day,” he groaned into the dampened rag.

Maka couldn’t help but agree, but she had to set a good example. “We’ve got to get used to days like these, you know. How else will I make you into the best Death Scythe?”

Riding Soul’s motorcycle home would have been extremely refreshing right about now. The wind blowing in their faces, a quick transport to their relaxing couch . . . But the target they had been assigned was only thirty minutes away from the apartment. That was petty walking distance for even the weakest of DWMA students. Too bad they had both underestimated the difficulty of their mission. The air conditioning would have to wait. Soul probably felt like an ass for making the same assumption as she did.

“I know, I know,” Soul chided. “This is going to be the norm, right? All to get stronger.”

His tone of voice implied Soul had more to say, but was holding back. He probably didn’t want to be scolded by his meister for saying something out of line. Suddenly Soul stopped in his tracks, frowning through gritted teeth. Maka’s eyes followed Soul’s own to the source of his dismay. Maka had to shield her eyes from the sun in order to identify the offender that stood in their path.

A roadblock?

“Great! Just great,” the scythe snarled. “Looks like we have to find another way back.”

Talk about disappointing. It would mean a longer walk than usual to get home, and Maka wasn’t sure how much more her feet could take. There had to be an alternate route close by, but where? It shouldn’t be too hard to find. Or, maybe it would be. The temptation to ask Soul to carry her was increasing, but Maka knew she shouldn’t burden him like that.

Holding a thumb to her chest, Maka straightened her back. “Don’t worry Soul. I got this.” She began to pace to her left.

“Just follow my lead, oka—hey!”

Soul grabbed at the back of Maka’s shirt to keep her from strolling off. She could have sworn she heard her weapon chuckle at her zeal. “And where do you think you’re going? We both know that you’re terrible with directions,” he scoffed. “I’ll lead the way from here.”

Maka pouted as an embarrassed heat rose to her cheeks. Hopefully nobody saw that. If Soul pointed it out, she could say her blush was a result of sunburn. “But I’m the meister here,” she murmured as though that were a valid argument.

“And I’m the one who knows east from west. Now come on.”

Okay, her face had to be red by that point. She would hit him for being so disrespectful, but the two of them were tired enough. Slapping Soul might sap what little strength he had left to walk home, and the meister definitely did not want to carry him back. She was grateful enough that her partner didn’t transform and make her carry him the way back. “Maybe you’re not such a jerk, after all.”

“What was that?”

Maka flinched. Soul was at least ten paces ahead of her. She must have blanked out and spoken her thoughts aloud. Her pigtails fluttered when she weakly jogged to catch up with him. “Nothing! Nothing. Just keep going, please.”

Soul raised an eyebrow at her miniature outburst, but decided to leave it be. “Whatever you say Maka,” was all he mumbled before walking ahead of her. It was strange, but Maka could have sworn she saw his blood-red pupils glancing her over from top to bottom. Did she really look that disheveled, or something?

It must have been her imagination.

* * *

 

The sun had finally set. Aside from cool air, the meister-weapon duo had nothing to be eager about regarding their current predicament.

“I told you I should have led the way. We would have reached the apartment by now.”

“Maybe, or you would’ve gotten us even more lost.”

Bickering aside, neither of the teens recognized the district that they were in. Beautiful flora threatened to overtake the brick walls that separated the buildings from sidewalk. The fencing surrounding nearby houses must have been old, yet looked strangely clean. A small group of children walked around the pair, a tiny voice apologizing when its owner bumped into Soul’s side. Aside from the passing children, Soul and Maka were the only ones walking out on the sidewalk. Neither of them had grown up in Death City, at least not outside of the DWMA. Yet the atmosphere reminded Maka of her hometown.

Maka couldn’t help but smile.

This place had the kind of peace that they were fighting to protect.

Soul was probably giving her a weird look, but she didn’t care about that right now. Her attention was caught on something more important. Those bars, that slope . . . it couldn’t be anything else.

“Hey, Maka. What are you staring at? I don’t see anything interesting.”

Maka struggled not to sound offended. “What? You can’t tell me you’ve never seen a playground before!” Now her partner looked taken aback. Had she accidentally struck a nerve? He couldn’t have never been to one of these, right? And to think that he was the one telling her to go outside more often!

“Don’t give me that look.” His eyes seemed to focus on a nearby, suddenly fascinating hole in the ground. He was scared to lock eyes with her. Maka supposed that meant he couldn’t come up with something to defend himself this time around. It was a prime opportunity to tease him a bit, but the meister decided against it. The sun was down, so the equipment was all theirs. They were tired, and this was their chance to unwind for a bit.

“Well? What are you waiting for?”

Soul gave her a puzzled glance. “Huh? For you, obviously. So we can go home.” The scythe yelped when his meister lightly slapped a sore spot on his back.

“But this is perfect! Class is off tomorrow, so why not take a breather?” Before her weapon could make any smartass comments, Maka teasingly chimed in. “It’s an order from your meister.”

He could do little else but sigh in resignation. It was getting harder to hold back the laughter that bubbled in her throat. “C’mon, that’s not fair. Do you really expect a guy as cool as me to hang out in a playground?”

“Yes,” Maka giggled. She looked over the playground and began to reminisce. Monkey bars, tether balls . . . and was that what she thought it was?! Before Soul could protest, she snatched him by the hand. “Quick, Soul! You have got to try these out!”

The scythe was too worn out to even try and resist. How had Maka gotten so worked up in the span of four minutes? Was this really such a big deal for her? Considering their line of combat, sometimes Soul would forget that his meister was only thirteen. She always put on an air of maturity and wisdom around others, so it was good to see that her childish tendencies were still there.

“All right, all right! I’m tagging along only because I can’t just leave you here alone.” He cleared his throat before looking over what Maka had dragged him to. It looked like a slab of plastic chained to a set of metal bars overhead. “Uh, and what do you want me to do with these?”

Maka puffed her cheeks at him. “Sit on them, of course! That’s what swings are for.”

Swings, huh? Right . . . he had seen these before. Not like he never spent his time at a playground before. He just didn’t want to remember. His parents preferred to have him cooped up in the household, introducing him to music theories or breathing over his neck as he practiced the piano. He was glad to be out of there, but he didn’t expect to ever be seating himself in one of these things nearly seven years later.

“Say, Maka?” His partner had already begun to propel herself forward and back using the momentum of her heels meeting the ground. He decided to follow suit, although the creaking of the swings was likely to interrupt their conversation. Maka seemed to be enjoying herself, so he didn’t mind it.

“Hmmm?”

“Tell me about your childhood.”

“My childhood?” Maka took care not to swing her legs too hard. While the meister was petite, her physique was something the swing set was not built to handle. Soul made sure to follow suit; he would never hear the end of it from Maka if he broke playground equipment for innocent toddlers. It was troublesome enough to keep his legs from dragging on the ground below.

“What made you ask?”

“Well,” Soul began. “Seeing as this is a place for babies, I thought it would be good to—“

The scythe reeled back and out of his seat in a flash. Maka had used her swing as a lift, sending herself flying foot-first into Soul. She must have been getting tired of books, because she kept finding more creative ways to be abusive. He was sore enough as is. “Ow! See what I mean?” Soul dusted himself off with his palms, looking over his shoulder to check his rear.

“If you’re going to be so mean, then I’m staying away from these things,” Soul grunted while tugging at the chain of her swing.

Unfazed, Maka gestured for him to come closer. “Then push me.”

“What, like on the ground?” Looking at Maka’s dropped jaw made it hard not to laugh. She appeared ready to talk his ear off. “It was a joke, lighten up. But now you have to tell me about your childhood. Okay?”

The whole idea was unwise, but she had already nodded in agreement. Soul didn’t want to be held accountable for broken equipment, and the temperature was starting to sink. They both risked getting a cold out here. Still, a break was nice. And Soul couldn’t really say no to what his meister wanted in the end. His hands felt warm against her back, and Soul couldn’t believe that he was actually blushing from something so insignificant. Something about it felt . . . weird. It was just the back of her nerdy sweater vest, nothing to get flustered over.

Why was he getting so worked up? Sure, Soul was always pretty awkward about touch, but . . .

He had to be careful not to push her off the swing out of embarrassment.

* * *

 

A lot of what Maka had told him, Soul already knew. He didn’t mind, of course; he was just in the mood to hear Maka talk. They had known each other for a while, so there weren’t that many surprises. He knew about how torn Maka was when her parents first divorced. He knew that her mother liked to style her hair in pigtails, so Maka continued to do so even after she disappeared. He knew that Maka swore when she was eight to never fall in love.

But then she began to tell him about something he didn’t expect.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved dragons.”

Soul stopped pushing her back, grasping the chain of the swing as it slowed down to stop its momentum. That was interesting. Maka definitely had the air of a tomboy, so Soul shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was. “Really? I expected you to be into, I don’t know. Turtles or something.”

Maka snorted. “Yeah, right. How could anyone not like dragons?” She looked up to the sky as if she could see something peeking out of the dissipating clouds. Her hazel eyes looked captivated, lost in the murky sky. Although the stars had yet to come out, Soul could swear he saw them in Maka’s pupils.

“I mean . . . dragons are beautiful, and strong! It’s amazing to see all the different dragons that are described in books.” The smallest of smiles lit up Maka’s face as thoughts of dragons swirled in her mind.

“They could live underwater, breathe ice . . . sometimes even write books and study magic! Dragons can be anything that we want them to be. Sometimes they’re written as monsters to be slain, other times they can be the hero.” Maka gave a dreamy sigh. Geez, she must really like thinking about dragons.

“Still, there’s something special about that. We’ve never seen a real dragon, but we can imagine all kinds of possibilities. Don’t you think that’s inspiring?”

Truthfully, Soul saw no reason to believe in dragons. They had fought all kinds of monsters, so the idea wasn’t too far-fetched. But he would have to wait until he saw one with his own eyes before making any kind of assumption. With the intensity of Maka’s eyes burning a hole into his face, Soul felt that he had to watch his mouth. “Yeah, I guess.”

Almost as if his meister had some kind of sudden revelation, Maka appeared to be giving Soul a very curious look. “Uh . . . is something on my face?”

“No, I’m just . . . remembering,” Maka clarified. “When I met you, I think my first impression was that you were actually a dragon.” She pointed to her mouth, lips stretched as she bared her teeth at him.

“You can’t deny that you sort of look like one, with your red eyes and shark fangs.”

Okay, Soul couldn’t think of a good comeback to that one. He did look kind of dangerous, but at least it added to his coolness factor. “Please don’t tell me that was the reason you chose to partner up with me.”

“Maybe.”

Ouch. Even if Maka was clearly joking, the five-letter word was like an arrow to his pride. Perhaps looking like a scaly, albino lizard to Maka wasn’t so cool after all. Or was it? Maybe he was reading into it too much, but Maka did say she’s always loved dragons—

A devilish idea popped up in the scythe’s head.

“Really? In that case . . .” Soul smirked before making his move.

“This dragon’s gonna get you!”

Before Maka could react, Soul wrapped his arms around her from behind. Trapped by his embrace, Maka could not pull away from his fingers as they wriggled at her sides. He wasn’t known for being a tickle monster, so the meister was more than surprised. Soul had to lift her off of the swing’s seat while keeping her close. Good thing no one was around to see, otherwise this would look horrible.

“S-Soul?! Wha . . . what are you do—ha hah! Stop, stop!”

“No can do, Maka. This is payback for being a jerk!”

That wasn’t the real reason, but Soul didn’t exactly want to disclose the truth to her. Maka wasn’t currently in a position to think deeply over his words anyway. It was even hard to even hear himself think over Maka’s roaring laughter. She must be really ticklish.

Hell, her body heat quickly became addictive to Soul in contrast to the increasing chill in the air. Hopefully she could feel his body heat, too. His meister was so warm and soft, and smelt kind of nice . . .

Too bad if he told her any of those things, Soul knew he would die on the spot.

But who was he kidding? If it meant he could hold Maka like this more often, Soul would die happily.


	5. Coming of Age

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a fun ride! I really enjoyed looking through everyone else's writing and artwork for the week, so I'm looking forward to soma nsfw week when it comes!  
> There's no actual sex in here, but rated M just to be safe!

It was yet another boring Saturday for Maka Albarn.

She would normally spend this time studying for any classes that gave her trouble, or digging into an interesting book. If neither options were available, she would check on whatever her boyfriend was up to. Unfortunately for Maka it seemed that none of the three were available. Classes had ended approximately fifteen days ago, and she just finished reading through the last book on her personal shelf aptly labelled ‘to read’. Even her boyfriend wasn’t home yet.

Maka sighed, staring into the glass of water she had just poured to keep herself cool. Changing into a tank top and pajama shorts was all the meister could do to not fry up in the heat of her apartment. Blair had busted the air conditioner trying to chase a mouse. Maka had thought her friend better than that, but apparently that was too much to hope for.

“Can’t Soul come back already?”

Slouching over the kitchen countertop, Maka watched the ice cubes swirl around in the water with each roll of her wrist. She had nothing better to do but listen to the soft clink of ice against the walls of the glass and talk to herself. It’s not like she didn’t know where Soul stashed his music. Even if she didn’t understand it that much, some smooth jazz would at least break the silence.

Thankfully for Maka, it seemed that her hero had arrived at last.

“I’m home,” called out the rough voice that she had fallen in love with years ago.

“About time,” groaned Maka. She was still slumped over the kitchen counter, too lazy to even turn her chair around and greet him. “I’ve been bored out of my mind all day.”

Soul rose an eyebrow at her words, but wasn’t surprised in the least. He his eyes looked her over, from top to bottom. The Death Scythe would never admit it, but he spent a little too much time focusing on the latter. Maka’s pajama shorts were always a little too . . . showy. His meister claimed that she didn’t really mind, as Soul wasn’t the perverted type to begin with. That applied years ago, sure, around the time when he and Maka had still been training to fight the Kishin. But he was young back then, and hormones were a fickle thing.

Soul couldn’t deny he was grateful for having such a cute meister.

“Yeah. I can, uh, see that.”

Soul hoped that the daze in his voice wasn’t too obvious. Knowing Maka, she would be using her sense of soul perception right about now to see what he was really feeling. It was a power that had its pros and cons—although the cons were almost always weighed down on him. He had developed his own ways of getting around it through the years. For instance, she probably knew that he was happy to see her without even looking at his face.

What she didn’t know was that he was happy to see her in more than one aspect.

“So . . .” Maka began, breaking Soul out of his mental trance. “Now that you’re home, what do you plan on doing? It would be great if it was something that both of us could do.”

Yeah, looks like Maka just wanted something to fight off the boredom. That’s what Soul hated about the peak days of summer. Too hot to go outside and Maka managed to marathon through books like no one else. She was a very picky girl to cater to when it came to dates, but he didn’t mind. Soul understood that Maka just liked to be preoccupied with something almost all the time.

“Something to do, huh?”

Soul had an idea. She probably wouldn’t be very receptive to it, but it was still an idea. The weapon decided to sneak up on his master while her back was still turned. When he was right behind her, Soul snuck his arms just above her waist to pull her into a hug. His lips crept right next to Maka’s ear, his voice a hoarse whisper.

“Well . . . why not do me?”

A snicker bubbled in Soul’s throat when he saw the color change in her cheeks. It was corny as hell, but stuff like that always seemed to work on his girlfriend. Maka never ceased being adorable when he teased her. “What’s wrong, Maka?”

She flubbed at the coy tone of his voice, especially with how its sweet sound carried directly to her eardrum. “Nothing. Nothing is wrong. Nope.” Soul made sure to nuzzle his face right into the crook of Maka’s neck—right where she liked it. His warm breath tickled her sensitive skin.

“Why not? You turned eighteen just last week!” The way the grin of his teeth felt against her neck made Maka shiver. “I say we should celebrate.”

Now she was confused. Maka finally lifted her torso off of the counter, ruffling a hand through Soul’s messy hair. “Celebrate? But we already had a party, and everything. If you’re in the mood for cake we can just—“

Oh.

Ohhhhh.

Oh, in the name of Death . . . how was she so naïve?

She could already feel Soul’s chest rumbling against her back. He was probably trying to contain his laughter from how she completely missed the point. Still . . . it was embarrassing. Now that she was ‘legal,’ he wanted to . . . ‘celebrate’. “Um,” Maka bashfully started. “Are you . . . do you really mean that?”

Honestly, Soul kind of said it as a joke. She had respectfully turned him down the past few days. Understandably so, since he didn’t shut up with his persistent innuendos. Soul liked to think of himself as a patient guy, but when it came to Maka finally hitting the big one-eight? He had trouble restraining himself.

Especially in his thoughts.

“Only if you want me to, Maka.”

He kissed his meister on the ear before reluctantly pulling away, giving her some space. “If you’re thinking about it, I’m sure Blair has some sexy panties she’d be willing to share with you.”

Maka gave him a gentle slap on the shoulder. To Soul’s relief, Maka’s impulsive tendencies to hit him had dampened over the years. It’s still a reflex of hers, but Soul didn’t have to worry about any more bruises and bumps at the top of his head. Her delightfully kissable lips were pouting at him, and the temptation to kiss her mid-sentence was strong.

“Really, Soul? I’d sooner die than put on a thong worn by that cat. Not now, not ever.” Then the pout became a smile, and Soul’s heart fell into his stomach. Maka Albarn had a plan. “But . . .”

But? But what?

Was she really considering his offer this time?

Soul was not ready for this. He suggested it, but was not prepared in the least for her to actually agree.

He didn’t even have any condoms!

The mental whiplash that echoed in Soul’s head only got louder when Maka finished her statement.

“The idea of celebrating doesn’t sound that bad.”

Oh, how the tables have turned. Soul could feel the heat creeping up into his cheeks now. Her widening smile only confirmed that he was blushing. Fuck.

“To tell the truth, Maka . . .” Soul focused his vision on a corner in the opposite side of the room. “I, uh. Wasn’t expecting you to actually say yes.”

He jolted when the soles of Maka’s feet met the tile flooring with a clack. She had the usual air of confidence about her. Did she already know that he was caught off guard? Soul gulped when he felt Maka’s hands slide up his chest. When did she get so close to him? It was like he blinked, and then her face drew closer, and her lips right up to his earlobe—

“You weren’t?” Maka attempted to sound surprised, but Soul didn’t buy the act. “Does that mean you’re backing out?”

His eyes widened when his ear began to feel . . . warm. And wet.

Soul shuddered when it finally registered that Maka Albarn was licking along his earlobe. And did that alluring voice of hers just set him up for a challenge? A challenge to act out his sexual fantasies with her, no less? He couldn’t hide the grin that spread on his face if he tried. One of his hands traced up to Maka’s chin, tilting her face upward so she could see the determination in his piercing red eyes.

“Hell no. I wouldn’t pass on an opportunity like this for anything.”

Maka smiled back.

“Good.”

‘Good’. That was the last word Soul was going to permit to leave her mouth. From here on, he was going to aim for getting her to call his name and nothing else. Their lips met with a fervor that Soul recognized from battle. It was almost as though their souls were resonating, and Maka was taking the lead. The two of them were no experts at kissing, so Soul was more than a little startled when his meister’s tongue requested entry into his mouth.

He complied, embracing Maka’s body and into his chest as everything went from warm to hot. Soul moaned into her mouth, initially careful not to nip her on accident. That had been a cause of worry for him when it came to kissing; drawing blood from her lips thanks to his fanged teeth. He wasn’t a fucking vampire, damn it. But as their kiss grew deeper, more heated—Soul found himself starting to care less. One of his hands wandered down to Maka’s waist, the other ran its fingers through her hair.

Constantly was he trying to pull her closer into him. Soul wanted to feel nothing but Maka right now. Judging from the impatient pair of hands pawing at his back, Maka must have felt the same. It was only until after they began dating when Soul started to get really cuddly with her. He would have done so sooner, but personal space was something to be respected. It caught Maka off guard most of the time, but she grew into it with pleasure. She would even use it as tease-bait on occasion.

‘For a guy modest about touching, you sure like to get intimate,’ she would say.

That would be the part where he says something along the lines of, ‘shut up and kiss me’.

The two had to break apart briefly to gasp for air. They could only withstand so many onslaughts of sweet, sweet make out. Maka was about to dive right back in, but Soul had to stop her. Something had been nagging at the back of his mind, and he really needed to clear it up before advancing any further.

“Maka.”

She was still dazed by the intensity of their kiss, eyes half-lidded. “You look serious. What’s up?”

“Do you, uh . . .” Soul cleared his throat, arms coiling around Maka’s waist. “Are you sure you want to do this? We don’t have any condoms, and . . .”

Her eyes shot open, suddenly wide awake. Maybe she hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Well, I want to at least do something with you. But penetration is out of the question.” She looked away, as though she were nervous that Soul would be offended by her choice. “I don’t think I’m ready yet.”

To Maka’s surprise, her boyfriend sighed with relief. “Really? I’m glad, because I don’t think I’m ready to take it that far yet. You cool with taking it slow?” They both smiled at each other, lips gently grazing as Soul tucked a strand of hair behind Maka’s ear.

“Sounds good. But why not see how far we can take it, hmm?”

Wow, okay. He knew Maka at least wanted to relieve some sexual tension or something, but he had no idea she was this eager. Anyone’s first impression of his meister didn’t fall anywhere near ‘closet pervert’. Maybe looks really are deceiving.

“I like the way you think, Albarn.”

“Good. Now show me what you’ve got, Evans.”

They really needed to work on sounding sexy. It was silly to address each other by their last names at a time like this, but the words slipped out. Kind of like how Maka’s delicious looking thighs were out for his eyes to drink in. It had to be obvious that he was staring, but Soul didn’t give a fuck. She already knew that he loved her thighs, but only now did he really take the time to feel them up.

Those cute skirts have tempted him for too damn long.

“So . . .” Soul quietly purred, slowly sliding his coarse hands up and along Maka’s thighs to her ass. The heat must have really been getting to his brain, as it barely registered that Soul had just given his girlfriend’s butt cheeks a bit of a squeeze. “You want to move over to the couch yet?” He was content with anything, as long as he could reach Maka’s neck with his lips. But the response of his extra-virgin meister still proved to be a surprise.

“Too boring.” In one quick movement, Maka had snatched one of his hands off her ass and turned to face her right. She carried him with her by the wrist and slammed his back against the wall. Her lips were immediately at his neck, and Soul already found himself at Maka’s mercy. Holy shit. Soul had to run the movement through his brain twice before he understood what the hell just happened. “Let’s do it like this.”

Since when was his meister this hot?

Oh, wait. Always.

“U-Uh, um.” Maka could feel the lump in Soul’s throat as he gulped, its skin pinked out of modesty. He definitely did not expect her to take the initiative so quickly. “Uh huh.”

‘Uh huh? Really? That’s the best you can come up with?’ Soul mentally chided himself. ‘Get ahold of yourself! You’d better do something quick, or she’ll have you on your knees in a flash!’

Okay, the idea of submitting to Maka wasn’t that bad. It would probably lead to the best experience in his nineteen years of life. But if they were celebrating on her behalf, Soul was going to make sure his girlfriend wouldn’t be able to walk after he was through with her. He quickly hiked a knee between Maka’s legs, making her breath hitch. The stumble that followed gave him an opportunity to flip her around, pressing his girlfriend’s back into the wall instead. The confident smile on Maka’s face was wiped clean off when Soul held both of her hands above her head.

They were really doing this.

“I m-mean . . . Not so fast.”

Soul’s attempt at being suave was completely blown by a stutter. Way to go, cool guy. Maka would have laughed at the slip-up had he not pressed his lips to her ear. He had to redeem himself, dammit. While keeping her wrists pinned above her head, the scythe brought one of his arms between Maka and himself. Soul whispered to her in the huskiest voice he could muster.

“Stay still.”

Before Maka could ask any questions, her heart jolted at the sight of Soul’s arm transforming. She knew that her partner would never harm her, but her body froze nonetheless. He wanted her to stay still? What was he planning?

It was exactly ten dragged-out before Maka’s tank top was fully cleaved clean in half. Divided by the middle, the clothing’s two halves draped open. Soul must’ve cut her bra too, because now she felt vulnerable. She wasn’t exactly in a position to scold him, so that would have to come later. Her boyfriend was looking especially proud of himself, grinning so wide his face could split in half.

It gave her an impression of, ‘I’ve always wanted to do that.’

“Well, Maka . . .”

The confidence in Soul’s voice rose. She could see in his soul that her partner was still embarrassed about this, but didn’t intend on backing down anytime soon.

And that was exactly what she wanted.

“I hope you’re ready to get a taste of Soul ‘Eater’ Evans.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta da! A cliffhanger. I'm planning to continue from here for soma nsfw week when it comes up. Hope to see you folks then!


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